Automatic developing apparatus



G. SIMJIAN 1,939,144

AUTOMATIC, DEVELOPING APPARATUS Original Filed Dec. 1 1931 2Sheets-Sheet 2 LLJTHEIIK ET EIMJIAN Patented Dec. 12, 1933 UNITED- STAres AUTOMATIC DEVELOPING APPARATUS Luther G. Simjian, New Haven, Conn.

Application December 16, 1931, Serial No. 581,405 i Renewed May 12, 1933l 12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements, in automatic developingapparatus and the objects of the invention are to provide automaticmeans whereby photographic material can be treated while enclosed withina light-proof carrier adapt-,

ed to receive and agitate therein a fluid content automatically spilledand renewed while the photographic material remains within a darkenedcarrier; to provide automatic means for moving such carrier throughdifferent stations for automatic treatment of the photographic materialtherein contained; to provide such carrier with a holder adapted to sohold photographic material photographically exposed that only the faceof such material is physically exposed to the fluid content of thecarrier; and to provide such carrier with a cover adapted to beautomatically removed to expose a photographic content to light. a

That the character of the improvement may be understood, reference ismade to one illustrative device embodying the invention herein pointedout and illustrated by the accompanying drawings of which the Figure 1is an upright elevation of the device; the Figure 2 is, a top viewthereof; the Figure 3 is a perspective view of a carrier memberillustrating a holder therein; the Figure 4 is a bottom view of thecarrier member illustrating means for adjustingthe holder; the Figure 5is a detailview of a valve mechanism; the Figure 6 is a detail view of atripping mechanism; and the Figure 7 is a detail view .of an electriccontact element, the Figures 8, 9 and 10 being modified forms of holderand carrier members.

Referring moreparticularly to the drawings,

the apparatus comprises the supporting frame 1, the fixed upper andlower tables 2 and 3, respectively, supported by the frame 1,,thecentral vertical shaft 4 extending upwardly from the lower table 3 andthrough an aperture in the upper table 2, the shaft 4 supporting thedisk 5 for rotation therewith as the motor 6, having a low gearedconnection with the shaft 4, is made to.

slowly operate it. The upper surface of the disk 5 is radially dividedby the ribs 7 into the integral, sections 8, each section 8 having themarginal opening 9 extending. through the disk 5, each opening 9including the recesses 10, radially aligned one with the other asregards the disk 5. Mounted within each of the-recesses 1 0 of eachopening 9 are the adjustablebearings 11, each bearing 11 including aspring-pressed pivoted support 12 having a connectionwith alever I 1 3,depending below the disk 5 and adjacent the posts 21 adapted to reposein the bearings 11' of the recesses 10 of any of the openings 9 intowhich the carrier 20 may be dropped from above the disk 5 to adapt thecarrier 20 for a rocking movement'within the opening 9. The carrier 20is provided with. an interior basin. 20-, illustrated in dotted lines bythe- Figure 3, and also with a sliding cover 22 having the protectedopening 23 therethroughfor admitting fluid butexcluding light. Withinthe carrier 20 is a holder 24 of the type described in two earlierapplications both filed by your petitioner July 13, 1931, Serial Numbers550,541 and 550,542, excepting that the holder 24 herein describednormally remains within the carrier 20 and isreached for filling througha lateral opening and for adjustment by the screw means 25 manuallyoperable outside of the carrier 20, a sheet metal spring member. 20,being employed to separate the clamping means upon the release of thescrew means 25. Adjacent to one of the axle posts 21 there is pro-.vided a short post 26 laterally spaced but ex-'- tending parallel withthe axle post .21. Centrally and fixedly arranged upon the fixed uppertable 2 is a cylindrical wall 27 having a removed section, as at 30, theserrated upper edge 28 of the wall 2'7 lying in the path of travel ofthe,

short post 26 as the carrier 20 is moved with the rotating disk 5, thus,with the aid of gravity,

compelling the post 26 to ride upon the serrated, edge 28 tocommunicateto the carrier-20a rocking movement for a purpose'to beexplained. ,At

certain spaced intervalsaround the serrated wall V 30., each containerhaving a rubber pipe conduit a 31 leading to distributive locations orstations at each of which therubber pipe extends through a mechanismoperable as a valve to check or control the flow of fluid throughtheconduit 31, the outlet of each conduitfil lying in the path of theprotectedopening 23 of the cover 22 of the carrier 20 as it moves withthe rotating disk 5. The valve mechanism comprises the fiat base 32 having a pair of integral upright arms 33, each arm' 33 having a slot 34. VAnarcuate clampingmem ber 35 normally rests upon th'e flat base 32.between said arms .33, therubber pipeof. the conduit 31 lyingbetweenthe base 32 and the arcu ate. clamping member 35;- The curved lever 36has a sliding pivotal movement by means of the ears 3'7 engaging withinthe slots 34, a cam portion 38 of the lever 36 being adapted, 'as it isswung in one direction, to engage with, and assume a right-angledposition relative to, the arouate clamping member whereby the portion38is jammed down upon the arcuate clamping member 35, and hence the rubberpipe of the conduit 31, the release of the mechanism being obtained byswinging the lever 36 in the other direction. Upon the overheadstructure 14 of the frame 1 are mounted arcuate rods 40 upon which aremounted at spaced intervals the brackets 41, of which only two areillustrated. It is to these brackets 41 that the valve mechanism issecured, the outlets 39 of the conduits 31,

each being directed downwardly. Movably mounted upon the brackets'41 isa'horizontal shaft 42 upon one end of which is fixedly mounted thefinger 43 extending eccentrically, as regards the shaft 42,.and adaptedto operatively engage either end portions of thecurved lever 36 to movethe cam portion 38 of the lever 36 down upon, or away from, the arcuateclamping member 35, the shaft 42 having fixedly mounted upon theopposite end a cam member 44having the cam portions 44 and 44 forpurposes about to be explained. Mounted upon the fixed table 2 isthe'vertical post 15 supporting the-horizontal finger 16 and, below thetable 2 and adjacent the post 15, is a trip mechanism 17 of which onlyone is illustrated and of which the depend-- ing lever-l3 is a part. Thetrip mechanism 1'7 has two separate functions; for first, itsconnectionwith the pivoted support 12 of the adjustable bearings '11 issuch that, by means of the spring-pressed sliding rod 18' connected atone end with the pivoted support 12 and at the other end'with thedepending lever 13, a movement of the lever 13 against the springtension of the rod 18 will cause the support 12 to be withdrawn as" apart of the bearings 11 to permit the carrier 20 to drop through theopening 9 of the disk 5 and upon the inclined chute 45 down which thecarrier 20 may slide to the table 2; and second, its connection, bymeans of the rotatable rod 19 mounted uponthe brackets 46 and hi;- edlycarrying adjacent one end the manually operable member 4'7 having thefinger 48, and

likewise carrying at the other end the cam member' 49 normally held inone position by me'ans of the spring 50, the cam member 49 normallysupporting a verticallymovable tripping member 51 in itslowerunextending positionbut when the carrier 20 is placedwi'thin anopening-9 with the axle posts 21 resting upon the'bearings 11, themember 4'7 must first be manually operated to move the finger 48' out-ofthe way, the end of the finger 48 resting against the end of an axlepost 21, thus causing the cam 49 to have lifted the tripping member 41so thatits upper end extends above the table 2 in the path of the lowercam portion 44 of the cam 44 as the disk rotates, the] cam 44' thereby;being operatedin one direction,'-the finger 16 of the vertical post L 15being engageablewith the cam portion 44'" to operate the cam 44 in theopposite'direction. The vertical power shaft 4 has fixed thereto,

abovethe'disk 5, a cam-edged member hav-,

mg theradially disposed abrupt shoulders 61.

' l Pivoted to the frame 1 isa swinging arm 62 at the free end ofwhich-is rigidly carried a .downwardly directed finger" 63; Intermediate"the arm 62 there is pivoted an arm 64-having atits free end a roller 65adapted tonormallyl engage I oneof the radially disposed abruptshoulders61, a conduit 31 to supplythe carrier 20, through but also adapted totravel the cam surfaces of the cam-edged member 60. The table 2 isprovided with a fixed tripping member '79 located adjacent the inclinedchute 45 and adapted to be engaged by the depending lever 13 operablyconnected with the pivoted support 12. The shed '71, the position ofwhich is illustrated by the dotted lines in the Figure Z, extends over aportion of the disk 5, and directly under the shed 71 there is providedlighting units (not illustrated) for photographic printing at thatparticular station of travel of the disk 5. tion with such lightingunits a mercury switch '72 is provided. This switch comprises thecontainer '73 having the integral pockets '74 each of which holds aterminal wire '74 andboth of which are filled with mercury of themercury content of the container '73 regardless of the tipping angle ofthe container '73. The container '73 is pivotally suspended from aportion of the frame 1 by means of the pivotal connection '75. The rigidarms '76 are also suspended from the portion of the frame 1 and the freeends of the arms'76 are provided with the pulley wheels '77.

Depending from the container '73 is the rigid arm '78 to which both endsof a cord '79 are at tached, the cord '79 extending around bothpulley'wheels '77 and supporting therebetween a fioating bar havingashoulder 81 extending beyond the vertical plane of the pulley wheels '77and having'the bevelled end 82. Having described the several parts ofthe apparatus, it is to be understood that, while some of such partshave been'described and illustrated with regard to certain of theopenings 9, recesses 10, including valve and. tripping mechanisms, thesame are intended to be duplicated in connection with other openings 9,including a carrier'20 for each of said openings 9, as may be desired.

In operation, with regard to one carrier 20, photographically exposedfilm, together with printing-out paper, is placed while in a dark roomin relative contact within the holder 24 between the arcuate-clampingsurfaces of flexible material of which the upper clamping surface ismarginal only, thus exposing the face of the photographicallyexposed'film to the interior of the carrier 20. The screw means 25 isthen screwed up tightly so that the film and printingout paper therebyare held in close contact. carrier 20 is then brought'out of the darkroom with its cover 22 securely on, the carrier 20 being placed withinone of the openings 9 so that the axle posts 21 may rest within theadjustable bearings 11, the end of the finger 43 resting against the endof an axle post 21, thus maintaining the tripping mechanism member 51 inits raised position extending above the table 2, and the short post 26of the carrier 20 resting upon the serrated edge 28 of the, cylindricalwall 27. The motor 6 is then started and the disk-5, thereby slowlyrotated, moves the carrier 20 from the starting station, the carrier 20being rocked as it moves along, the rocking movement being caused by thecooperating influences of gravity andthe riding of said post 26 upontheserrated edge 28 of the wall 2'7. As the disk 5 advances the carrier 20under each station of valve mechanism, the tripping member 51 operatesthe lower oam persona of the cam 44'and thus causes the finger 43 tooperate the curvedilever36 to The , finger 43 to operatively engage thecurved lever.

36 to bear down the camportion 38 of said lever" the protected opening23 of the cover 22, with either a developing, fixing or rinsingfiuidiaccording to the source of supply from which that particularconduit leads. vertical post'15-then, by means of the advancing disk 5,operatively engages the upper cam portion 44" of the cam member 44 tocause the 36 upon the arcuate clamping member 35 to jam the same downupon the rubber pipe to close the flow of fluid therefrom. As thecarrier 20 is. rocked the fluids are each'agitated in turn, the

carrier 20 being tilted, following the agitation of each fluid contentbetween stations, as the" sufliciently to engage the finger 63 with thesliding cover 22 to gradually push off the said cover. 22'

from the carrier 20 and upon the side shelf 66.

The further advanced travel of the'disk 5 brings the finger 16 of thevertical post 15 in engage- .ment with the bevelled portion 82 of theshoulder 81 of the floating bar 80, and, as the disk 5 con tinues toadvance the post 15, the finger 16 travels under the shoulder 81,thuslifting the floating bar 80 and, through the agency of the .cord '79,pulling the container '73 ofthe mercury switch from itsnormal'inclinedposition so that the mercury content, seeking its ownleveL covers bothpockets 74 and conductively connects the terminal wires 74', thuscompleting an electrical circuit (not illustrated) to lightthe lightingunits (not illustrated) located beneath the shed '71 at the printingstation, under which shed '71 the carrier icontinues to rock-as thestill advancing disk 5 compels the post 26 to travel the serrated edge28 of the wall27. The photographic material being thus exposed to thelight, the nega-' tive, developed upon the fllm at the previous.

stations, is printed upon the printing-out paper while the photographicmaterial is still held withinthe holder 24. The carrier 20 passingwiththe advancing disk 5 fromunder the lighting units and the finger 16passing beyond the shoulder 81, the floating bar 80 is permitted to dropto its normal low position and the mercury switch to return to itsnormal inclined position in which the mercury content of the container'73 is separated from one of the pockets ,74 to open the circuit therebyswitching oif the light from the lighting units. The carrier then passes.under another valve mechanism whereby a washing fluid is delivered tothe carrier 20 in the manner aforesaid, and, following the agitation ofthe fluid content, the carrier 20 is again tipped to transfer the fluidcontent to the basin 20' by disk 5 and thus operatively withdraws themeans of the travel of the post 26 up and over a cam 29, and the carrier20 having reached, by,

the advance of the disk 5, the removed portion of the wall 2'7, asat 29,a depending lever 13 engages the fixed tripping member located at therelease station, and the lever -'13 is thereby operated upon the furtheradvancement of the pivoted support 12 from the bearings 11 to permit thecarrier 20 to drop through the opening 9 down upon the chute 45 to slidethereon to the The finger 16 of'the the filler element 93 having athreaded bore 98,

for'the screw 96. The tightening of the screw element 96 carriestheplate toward the filler I elementr93 and tightens the grip of the strap91 against the arcuate surface 92, the photographic material beingmarginally held between the strap 91 and the arcuate surface 92 forphysical expo-, sure to development and light in the manner alreadydescribed with regard to the preferred form of device. a

The Figures 9 and 10 illustrate a'still further modification of holderand carrierglOl in which the holder 100 comprises the three segments 103of a filler element encompassed by the arcuate sections 104 of glassplate and the perforated endless strap 105 encompassing the glasssections 104. Two'of the segments 103 are marginally spaced, one fromthe other, and thus connectedby the brace 106 having a threaded bore forthe screw means. 107,adapted when tightened to urgea slack portion-ofthe endless strap 105 down between theispaced segments 103 to tightenthe perforated endless strap against the arcuate contour of thesegmentslOS. Themodified carrier 101 is adapted to support the holder100 upon the shaft 109 for revolution thereon within the carrier 101 andmarginally running throughthe basin 110 provided within 7 be placedunder the glass sections 104, the nega-V tive material beingsuperimposed outside of said glass sections and under the perforatedstrap.

Inplace of the segments 103, a flexible air container might be usedadvantageously, if desired;

I claim: 1 r

1. An automatic developing apparatus comprising' a carrier containingphotographic material, means for moving "the carrier through differentstations, automatic means for supplying and changing a fluid content ofsaid carrier at certain of said stations, and automatic means foragitating the fluid content, said carrier having a cover thereonautomatically removable.

2. An automatic developing apparatus comprising a carrier having meansfor so holding photographically exposed photographic material that onlythe face of said material is physically exposed within the carrier,means for moving the carrier through different stations, automatic meansfor supplying and changing a fluid content of said-carrier at certain ofsaid stations, and automatic means for agitating the fluid content. I

3. An automatic developing apparatus comprising a support, alight-proof'carrier held bysaid support, said carrier having means forholdingpho-tographic material and a fluid content,

automatic means for agitating the .fiuidcontent,

and automatic means for spilling and renewing the supply of fluid whilethe photographic material is held within the light-proof carrier.

'4. An automatic developing apparatus com- 50 prising a support, alight-proof carrier held. by said support, a removable cover provided bysaid carrier, said carrieruhaving means'for'holding photographicmaterial and afluid content, automatic means for agitating the fluidcontent,

automatic means for spilling and renewing the supply of fluid while thephotographic material and adapted to hold a fluid content, aholderwithin the carrier, the holder. being adapted to so holdphotographic material that only the face of such material is exposed tothe fluidcontent, within the carrier, mechanism'for imparting rockingand tilting movements to said carrier to agitate and spill the fluidcontent, and means for periodically delivering the fluid content towithin said carrier while: the carrier is being advanced by the rotationof said disk.

6. An automatic developingv apparatus, the combination of a rotatingdisk, 2. covered carrier upon the disk, the carrier being adapted .tohold a fluid content, a holder'within the carrier, the holder beingadapted to so hold photographic material that only the face thereof isexposed to the fluid content within thecarrier, mechanism for impartingrocking and tilting movements to said carrier to agitate and spill thefluid. content, sources of fluid supply, conduits from each of saidsources, valve mechanism in the path of movementof said carrier, andmeans for operatingsaid valve mechanism to deliver a fluid content tosaid covered carrier while being advanced by the rotation of said disk..

7. An automatic developing apparatus com-' prising a carrier havingmeans 'for so holding photographically exposed photographic materialthat only the face of said material is physically exposed within thecarrier, means for moving the carrier through different stations,automatic means for supplying and changing'a fluid, con- .tent of saidcarrier at certain of said stations,

automatic means for agitating the fluid content,

and a'cover provided byv the carrier, said cover having a protectedopening adapted to exclude light from, but admit fluid to, said carrier.

8. An'automaticdeveloping apparatus comprising a support, a carrier heldby said support, aremovable cover provided by said carrier, said carrierhaving means for, holding photographic.

material and a' fluid content,,automatic means for agitating the fluidcontent,, automatic means for spilling and renewing the supply of fluidwhile the photographicmaterial is held within the carrier, automaticmeans forremoving thecsaid cover and subjecting-the photographicmaterial to light, an electric switch element,,ancl automatic 7 meansadapted to operate said switch.

9. An automatic developing apparatus, the combination of a rotatingdisk, a carrier thereon and adapted to so hold photographic material anda fluid content that only'the, face of such material is exposed to thefluid content within the carrier, mechanism for impartingrrocking andtilting movement to said carrier to agitate,

and spill the fluid content, and'means for periodically delivering thefluid content to within said carrier while the carrier is being advancedby.

the rotation of said disk.

' 10. An automatic developing apparatus, the combination or fixed andmovable supports, the

movable support providing an adjustable seat.

to receive acarrier movable with such support, a tripping memberprovided by the movable support and relatively and automaticallymovableto an operating position by the seating of the carrier, a valvemechanism mounted upon the fixed support and operatively'engageable bythe tripping member in its operating position.

11. An automatic developing apparatus, the

combination of fixed and movable supports, themovable support providingan adjustable seat to,

receive a carrier: movable with such support, a y

releasing mechanism provided by the movable support, and a fixedtripping member mounted upon the fixed supportand adaptedv to be engagedby said mechanism to so readjust said seat as to unseat and release thecarrier.

12. An automatic developing apparatus the movable support providing anadjustable seat to receive a carrier movable with such support, a-

n5. combination of fixed and movable supports, the V

